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Biographical Sketch of the Administrator's Office

Chavonda Jacobs-Young

ARS Administrator

Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young recently served as ARS Associate Administrator for National Programs, where she led the Office of National Programs which manages the research objectives of the Agency. She also led the Office of International Research Programs which is responsible for ARS’ liaison with its international partners.

Prior to moving into her role at ARS, Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young served as the Director of the Office of the Chief Scientist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she was responsible for facilitating the coordination of scientific leadership across the Department to ensure that research supported by, and scientific advice provided to, the Department and external stakeholders were held to the highest standards of intellectual rigor and scientific integrity. She also served as the Acting Director for USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Dr. Jacobs-Young was a senior policy analyst for agriculture in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she supported the President’s science adviser and others within the Executive Office of the President on a variety of agricultural scientific activities and worked across the Federal Government to improve interagency cooperation and collaboration on high-priority scientific issues.

Dr. Jacobs-Young is a native of Georgia. She holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Wood and Paper Science and a B.S. degree in Pulp and Paper Science and Technology from North Carolina State University. She also is a graduate of American University’s Executive Leadership in Public Policy Implementation Program.

Steven R. Shafer

Associate Administrator, National Programs

Dr. Shafer has devoted his entire professional career to public service in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Effective May 2014, he serves as Associate Administrator for National Programs in the Agricultural Research Service.In this position, he is the senior leader and manager for planning, prioritizing, and budgeting ARS’ comprehensive agricultural research programs.Prior to this appointment, he was Director of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (2012-2014), USDA’s largest research installation located just outside Washington, DC.He served as Deputy Administrator for Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the ARS Office of National Programs (2008-2012), with concurrent appointment as Senior Advisor for Climate Science in the Office of the Chief Scientist, USDA (2009-2010). He was the ARS Midwest Area Director (2006-2008), following appointment as the Midwest Area’s Associate Director (2005-2006), with senior management responsibilities for all ARS research in 8 states. He was the ARS National Program Leader for Global Change research (2000-2005); Deputy Director for Environment and Plant Health in the USDA Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis (1998-2000); and a plant pest risk analyst in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (1997-1998).During 1983-1997, he was a Research Plant Pathologist in ARS’ Air Quality-Plant Growth and Development Research Unit at Raleigh, NC, with concurrent faculty appointment in the Plant Pathology and Soil Science departments at North Carolina State University. His research focused on interactions of air quality with plants, pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms, and soils.

Dr. Shafer received the Senior Executive Service Meritorious Presidential Rank Award in 2011 and the USDA Secretary’s Honor Award in 2012.He received B.S. Agr. and M.S. degrees from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University, all in plant pathology.He is a native of Marion, Ohio.

Dr. Simon Y. Liu is the Director of the National Agricultural Library (NAL).NAL serves as the central library for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is one of the U.S.’ four National Libraries.NAL is the largest and most accessible research library specializing in agriculture.

Prior to taking his current position, Dr. Liu was the Associate Director of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and Director of the NLM Computer and Communications System.Dr. Liu attended university in his native Taiwan and pursued graduate studies in the U.S. where he earned master’s degrees in Computer Science, Business Administration, and Government from Indiana University, University of Maryland and The Johns Hopkins University.He received two doctoral degrees: an Ed.D in Higher Education and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from George Washington University.He is also serving as an adjunct faculty member with graduate school appointments at several of these institutions.

Dr. Liu is active in professional societies and associations and is the Editor-in-Chief of an information technology magazine and editor of two journals.Dr. Liu has published a book and more than 70 book chapters, journal articles and conference papers.Prior to his service at NLM, he held information technology and management leadership positions with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury, following work in the private sector where he supported software development for NASA information systems and space mission studies.